University of York Cancels International Men’s Day

According to The Yorker, the University of York has no plans this year to celebrate International Men’s Day on November 19th. This comes after a highly publicised incident last year when the university was forced to cancel the event under pressure from feminist academics and members of the York Student’s Union.

A University of York spokesperson released a statement detailing their decision:

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There are no events planned for International Men’s Day (IMD) on 19 November. We are, however, addressing some of the issues highlighted by IMD, including men’s mental health, with a series of events over the academic year. This term we launched an integrated campaign to highlight the positive steps all students can take to look after their mental health and the support available for those who need it. Further information on student health and wellbeing is available at: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/health/. We remain strongly committed to the principle of gender equality and to the creation of a positive environment which is fair, welcoming and inclusive and where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

This is the second year in the row that the university will not hold anything to mark International Men’s Day. Last year, 200 feminist student activists and professors signed an open letter demanding that the university cancel their planned events because of apparent “misogynistic rhetoric.” The administration quickly caved, saying that “the main focus of gender equality work should continue to be on the inequalities faced by women, and in particular the under-representation of women in the professoriate and senior management.”